words
by leiaah
Summary: in which the first words your soulmate ever says to you appear on your skin. two-shot, au, sasuke/hinata.
1. tumble

**title:** words

 **pairing:** sasuke/hinata

 **notes:** idea totally ripped off from that one tumblr post. and bc i can't help sasuhina and all the angst that comes with them :)

* * *

his parents had sat him down one day when he was still a child and spoke to him about love and life. when you grow older, words will spontaneously appear on your skin.

confused as to why it happened, his mother elaborated; they will be the first words the love of your life will say to you. she said with a kind smile on her face as she turned to his father, his lips tugging at the sides at her, their eyes bearing all the love they spoke about.

eight year old sasuke, thought it weird but it excited him. what kind of words would they be? who would say them? how would it happen?

 **x**

to her knowledge, the average age those words would appear on people was at about eighteen years old, give or take.

when her mother had told little hinata about it, she was positively elated. she had had fantasies about the day she would meet her soulmate. how she'd mutter the words that she would say to him first, and he would smile knowingly whilst still giving her his reply. they would maybe smile, giggle, chuckle, at each other. and he would bashfully ask her for her number, maybe go to a cafe, talk for hours. get to know each other. the possibilities were endless and the thought that the inevitable was coming made hinata more and more excited as she grew up.

 **x**

the words first appeared written across the skin of his forearm when he was seventeen years old.

 _excuse me._

he had been changing to get into the shower after training at the dojo and the words had made themselves apparent. he was startled at first; he had stared at them for a while, running the pad of his thumb across the letters as some form of hope balled in his stomach. he didn't dwell on it too long though. he was only seventeen and not nearly ready enough for a lifelong commitment.

bitterly, he had come to realise that those words would mock him for the rest of his life.

 _excuse me._

 **x**

when she found herself crushing on her classmate at university; secretly, she would go home and check her skin in front of her mirror. every part of her wanted to believe he was the one. his bright personality, beautiful deep blue eyes, uplifting spirit and never ending kindness had her completely taken.

she had been nineteen, and thought, maybe the words hadn't appeared yet because you had to prompt them to. if naruto had said something to her, maybe they'd appear then and it would be the confirmation she needed.

but when she finally mustered up the courage to say something to him, and he had replied enthusiastically, even saying her name which flustered her, later that night, she had all but stripped naked to check her skin but nothing was there. not even an out of place blemish.

 _nothing._

her spirits were downtrodden and her infatuation soon turned bitter, and she could no longer happily daydream of being swept off her feet by the handsome blond. some days she'd try to reason with herself, maybe the words weren't ready to appear yet? but that made no sense.

it wasn't until she was walking around campus and saw naruto and his friends playing baseball on one of the fields that she saw words etched onto his back as he was tackled to the ground, and his shirt hiked up trunk.

definitely not the words she had ever said to him.

she had felt tears prickle her eyes and at that point she had lost all hope that she would ever share anything with naruto.

 **x**

by twenty, sasuke had already squashed away any sliver of hope that existed.

how many times had he heard those words uttered to him?

people bumping into him, muttering their quick apologies. people trying to get around him. colleagues and peers asking for something. security guards telling him off. cashiers getting his attention when his mind was elsewhere. children, elderly, boys, girls, married couples…

 _excuse me, excuse me, excuse me._

it never ended.

by twenty six he had thoroughly and completely given up and thought the idea of love and soulmates was nothing short of bothersome. he plunged himself into his training. convinced himself that those words were only a distraction. he had… other ambitions. things to focus on. make something of himself. become someone to be remembered no matter how lonely it got.

over time he had tattooed a snake coiling around his forearm, covering the mocking letters.

out of sight, out of mind.

 **x**

at twenty five, and her skin still bare, hinata had long decided that it was futile. there came a period when she was angry at her fate. what force out there had decided her soulmate absolutely had to be the person who said whatever words appeared on her skin? wasn't love more powerful than this? wasn't love a force that could defy all laws, logic and reason? even the ones you thought were set in stone?

she had dated a person once. several months down the line he had come to her with guilt in his eyes and broke up with her. telling her that he had found his soulmate and that he was truly sorry.

she didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. just watched him go. she knew she should have expected it. but it hurt either way.

all of the people she knew already had words strewn across their skin. others already had found their soulmates and were steadily falling in love.

what had fate left her with?

 _nothing._

 **x**

sasuke was walking down the bustling street of the shopping district in shinjuku. headphones on, music blaring to drown out the sounds of the crowd. he waited absently at a cross section, the pedestrian lights red, waiting for it to change. when the signal changed, he paced forward, crossed the road, and turned the corner.

he fully collided with a girl who almost lost her balance, but regained it at the last second. straightening, hinata looked up apologetically, brushing her fringe out of her eyes.

"e-excuse me," she breathed.

the music was loudly playing in his ears, but sasuke could make out the words forming on her lips.

 _excuse me._

he felt a small pull that he used to feel the first few times those words had been uttered to him, but quickly smothered the feeling out of habit. he wanted to tell her to watch where she was going; he eyed her with something akin to disdain, but then decided to keep his silence.

 _nothing._

sasuke corrected the backpack hanging off his shoulder, and went around her to continue along his way.

hinata stared after him for longer than necessary. no thoughts in her mind until she blinked slowly, realising she was feeling a little less apologetic after the rude glare she had received. however, still feeling slightly amiss, she made sure everything was in order, the folders in her hands in their right place, and then continued on her way in the opposite direction. she took a few steps forward, and looked behind her once again, the man was walking away steadily.

she huffed and moved on, clearing him out of her mind.

he didn't know what possessed him to stop, but he did. and he looked back. barely caught her turning the corner and then she was out of sight. he scoffed then. shook his head, and walked a little faster.

hinata had to rush to the real estate office to finalise some paperwork on the apartment she had rented out in osaka. she was being relocated over there from her current museum in tokyo.

she was set to leave in a couple of days to start a new life, immersed in her art restoration work that kept her days filled and busy.

sasuke had training to catch up on, and a tournament to get ready for in two weeks' time.

he was going to be late.

* * *

end


	2. and fall

**notes:** part 2 due to popular demand! been coming back to write this for the past few months, idk if i'm entirely happy with it! tbh, i rly wanted this story to be a one-shot, but alas! here it is! hope y'all won't hate me! :p

* * *

hinata sat demurely next to one of the window sills in the vast lobby of the cruise ship. she sipped her tea slowly as she looked out to the horizon at the setting sun. the colours were painted across the sky so beautifully that they made her sigh wistfully.

she set down her teacup with a steady hand and moved to pack up her sketchbook when she noticed something dark on the palm of her hand. brows furrowed, she dropped her sketchbook onto her lap and held her palm up.

hinata visibly gulped, eyes widening; right there, letters looped and curved along the bumps and wrinkles of her palm.

 _is this yours?_

her back straightened and she looked up and scanned the people littering the lobby. her breath caught in her throat as she watched passed her by, going out their business, not paying her any mind. eventually her vision hazed over and she was lost in thought, staring into the distance. she didn't know how long she sat there but by the time she came to, the sun was down, the moon was shining bright, and the stars twinkled in the night sky.

she exhaled slowly... after all these years?

hinata, shut her eyes for a moment, grounding herself then picked up where she left off. confusion still marring her thoughts, she packed her belongings into her purse. she stood, leaving some coins on the table, and made her way to the exit of the lobby to be out in the open air. she was feeling both overwhelmed and empty at the same time and her every movement was on autopilot.

she made her way to the south-eastern part of the ship, the most quiet part of the cruiser, and carefully leant against the railing to watch the stars. each jewel glittered, like a beacon asking for her attention. a crisp wind blew that made her shudder, and she rubbed her hands together.

the action made her still in remembrance. she parted her hands slowly and peered at her left palm.

"is this yours?"

she almost whirred in her place as she turned to face the disembodied voice. tears formed in her eyes and when she turned to blink at the man, the tears fell like glitter under the pale moonlight.

he looked taken aback by the unwarranted show of emotion, and was about to ask if the lady was okay when she held up her frail hand, palm up.

sasuke furrowed his brows and squinted to make the words out.

 _is this yours?_

he stood stock still, the letters burning themselves into his mind. eventually he looked past the offered hand and into the face of the woman who, now that he thought about it, seemed rightfully overwhelmed.

but then...

"i... i can't believe it." hinata said, her voice shaky with.. joy? sorrow? exasperation? melancholy? she couldn't really place the tumultuous feelings coursing through her body.

sasuke thought something had to be wrong. how are the words on her palm correct, but the first thing she said to him just now didn't coincide with what he had? he felt a dull itch on his forearm and absently rubbed the tattoo.

hinata wiped away the tears, lowered her hand, and suddenly felt very timid standing before this stranger. her tendency to shy away kicked back suddenly, a feeling she hadn't felt in decades...

she brushed away the white locks of hair from her eyes, and peered back at him.

"e-excuse me... i.. i don't know what came over me..." she trailed off and it was sasuke's turn to swallow hard. the way she looked at him, eyes apologetic. it struck a chord. something he had experienced.

"i..." he started but didn't know how to continue.

hinata looked at him expectantly, a pained expression crossed his features, which made her worry but he pressed on, despite the difficulty stringing words together.

"i know you." at her confused face, sasuke elaborated, trying to squeeze out every drop of his memory, "in... sh.. shinjuku. thir- fourty years ago. you.. i. we bumped into each other. your eyes.. i remember them."

there was silence between them as they stared at each other. suddenly sasuke remembered and began to quickly roll up the sleeve of his right arm.

"i, um, got this tattoo. when i was twenty three. i covered up my soulmark. it.. it said 'excuse me'."

"how c-come only now..." hinata asked herself as she stared at her old wrinkled hands.

hinata, sixty eight, suddenly felt like she had missed out something beautiful her entire life. she had met her soulmate rougly fourty years ago, and for reasons she couldn't understand, fate hadn't allowed it until now.

voice deep with regret, sasuke placed a hand over his chest, "i wasn't even going to say anything to you.. it's only because you dropped this..." hinata hadn't noticed he'd been holding a small folded up piece of paper, one of her sketches, he stretched out his hand to her.

with trembling hands, hinata took the paper and unfolded it, it was a sketch of- overcome with another strong wave of emotion, she folded it back up and handed it to him.

"keep it- it's yours." she choked out, covering her mouth as tears welled up in her eyes again.

he hesitantly took it from her, he hadn't seen what it was, only saw the paper when it came loose from the book poking out of her bag. when he unfolded the paper and looked at what was sketched out his heart thrummed loudly in his chest, a feeling so foreign, he didn't know what to process it as.

it was a pencil sketch of him. he was sitting on a stool at a bar on one of the decks of the cruise ship, nursing a tall glass of red wine; he was there yesterday. the sketch was quick, but pencilled in details gave it enough depth to make everything discernible.

feeling light-headed, hinata moved to sit on one of the chaise-longues. clutching her rapidly beating heart over her chest. it seemed like an eternity that they were plunged into the silence. the only sound were the distant waves as the cruise ship tore through the water and the light winds shaking the ropes and bells around the deck.

eventually, sasuke joined her on the chaise-longue, their shoulders brushing; sketch secure in his gentle grasp.

he inhaled slowly, something in him being rejuvenated. feeling clearer and lighter than he had ever felt, he turned to her; she felt his eyes on her and met his look.

"well. let's start with the basics at least." he said seriously, but with innocent mirth in his eyes.

she gave him one last confused look before he spoke again.

"my name is sasuke uchiha..." he gazed at her expectantly, his dark eyes were intense and one could easily be lost in them.

hinata's aged face coloured with youth tinting her cheeks, "i'm hinata hyuuga."

sasuke offered his hand, and she hesitantly placed her hand in his, "nice to meet you." he said to her as he brushed his lips against the back of her hand.

a shy smile graced her features, "finally."

* * *

end


End file.
